Oltremare
by randomteenager
Summary: [AU] He only meant to make her cry, not fall in love with her. [Gruvia]
1. nuvole bianche

**Author's Note: **-sweats- So… this isn't a one-shot… it's actually gonna be three or four chapters, depending. I have three-fourths of it written… but I figured I could start sharing now… but multi-chaps make me super nervous and anxious because I always worry about making you guys wait too long for updates ;.; Um, I'll try my very best, but I go to a very academically rigorous university (that prides itself in that, too), so please don't get upset if I take a long time! I never abandon anything, but sometimes I need a little extra push to finish things ;.;

Um, anyway, you guys might recall tumblr user yuuba's Sharkboy Gray &amp; Mermaid Juvia AU way back in the summer (if not, I'll link it to my profile), but as always, I'm 2000 years late to things. Anyway, some parts are based/inspired off that, but also goes off in another direction of my own creation, and… yeah.

I haven't done a multichap in… um, a really long time (does a 3-4 shot even count really heh), so I'm super nervous askdslkdfas. I really hope you like it! Please let me know what you think ;.;

* * *

**Oltremare**

Summary: [AU] He only meant to make her cry, not fall in love with her. [Gruvia]

* * *

**i – nuvole bianche**

Her mermaid tail thrashed in the water current swishing around her. Fingers curled in the net containing her, the wire digging into her hands and slicing her skin. It ensnared all around her, tightened mercilessly around her body and constricted her, but all she could do was search the blue sea for an escape before the darkness clouding her vision overwhelmed her.

The wire was caught around her throat, and it was getting so much harder to breathe…

But she still screamed, still fought back with all her being. The boat's engines roared and the propeller spun, pulling her back and pressing the net into her throat. She gasped for air, feeling a sharp, searing pain mark into her neck.

Before her body fell limp, she caught a glimpse of a shark tail, and then her eyes drew closed.

* * *

She awoke to the clear blue sky staring down at her. Blinking slowly, dazed in an obscure haze, the girl steadily regained her consciousness before a rush of remembrances suddenly crashed in her mind.

Choked, trapped in a net, the pain of the wires cutting into her skin—the memory sent her launching forward, hyperventilating with a hand over her hammering heart.

"Oi," she heard a voice call, and the mermaid flinched at the sound.

Slowly turning towards her side, Juvia blinked upon finding none other than a… boy?

"Finally awake, huh?"

His words were slightly muffled, his mouth full as he gnawed his teeth on something. Lowering her gaze, she instantly recognized the chewed object—the net, the very same net that had ensnared her. Torn to shreds, he chomped on one end of the wire before spitting it out and tossing the tattered rest aside.

When his gaze returned to hers, her eyes widened. The gills on his neck, the claws on his hands… the sharp rows of teeth lining his mouth, and a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his lips—

He—he was a—

"Hm?" he hummed, raising a brow when she slipped off the rock and plunged into the water. She peeked around the corner of the boulder, fear evident in her eyes, and he chuckled at the sight, flashing his sharp teeth at her. "What, you scared?"

Her eyes were trained on his mouth, and he knew exactly what she was staring at. Raising his hand, he smeared the blood over his lower lip, grinning wickedly before licking it clean.

"Don't worry," he told her. "S'not yours. The humans tried to reel you in, but they lost their grip. Not easy to hang onto something when you're missing a couple fingers."

He smirked at her, baring one of his sharp fangs out of the corner of his mouth. The girl only ducked further behind the rock and peered shyly at him, studying him.

He was… handsome. Intimidating, a little frightening, but he saved her life. Even with the blood smeared across his lips, there was something intriguing about him, and the way he smirked at her—it sent her heart racing, but it wasn't out of fear.

She ducked her head in the water when he swam towards her, leaving only her eyes peeking above the surface. He circled her, her gaze following as he did, carefully watching his movements while he eyed her with an indiscernible expression.

"You still scared?" he taunted mockingly, raising a sardonic brow. "Relax. I'm not going to eat you… yet."

She frowned, timidly studying him from the safety of the water. Her tail swished from one side to the other, ready to kick away as she poked her head above the surface.

"You… won't?" she asked, her voice a soft peep. "Why not?"

He tilted his head lazily, glancing her over. Her voice was thin and delicate, just like the yellow flower adorning her hair. How fitting for such a strange fish girl.

"Because," he began, and he almost grinned at the fear building in her eyes when he moved closer towards her. "You're boring right now. Playing with my food's half the fun, but you're too shocked to be any entertainment."

"But…" she murmured, moving behind the rock once more and peering over the corner, "you rescued Juvia."

"Don't put that in your head," he scoffed. "I didn't do it for you. I was just putting the humans back in their place—this is my territory, not theirs." His dark eyes narrowed dangerously. "What the hell were you doing anyway? Who's stupid enough to get themselves caught, don't you know better than to get too close to them?"

The girl shrunk under his reproaching tone, ducking her head and lowering her gaze. "Juvia… just wanted to see the sky…"

He furrowed his brow as she tilted her face up, the blue atmosphere and soft white clouds reflecting in her azure eyes.

Che. Definitely a strange fish girl.

"Um," she began, and he blinked at her shy blush and modest gaze flickering to and away from his, "th… thank you—"

"Don't," he snapped. "I told you, don't get the wrong idea. We're not friends; you're food, nothing else." He turned his back to her, splashing his tail in the water. "Now get out of here, and stay out of my sight. The next time I see you, I _will_ eat you, got that?"

The girl remained silent, watching him carefully. He seemed adamant to keep his back to her and dismiss her just like that, not even bothering to learn her name, nor give her his own.

Tugging her lips in a pensive frown, she turned her back towards him before promptly diving back into the water.

* * *

The next day, Gray knew he was being followed.

It was like there was a shadow he couldn't shake, no matter which path he went. But whenever he turned around, he met nothing but clear waters. This happened over and over, and the repeating pattern irritated him—he _knew _someone was tailing him, so where were they hiding?

Swimming a little further ahead, he passed a large boulder, gliding idly along the current before suddenly whipping around. He immediately trained his gaze on the area behind him—only to find an empty space once again.

Growling to himself, he peered over the side of the stone and glanced around, oblivious to the presence of the blue-haired mermaid holding a hand over her thumping heart as she carefully hid herself from his prying gaze.

He grazed his claws against the rock before moving away, and she exhaled a quiet breath, waiting patiently to hear him swimming through the waters once more. Upon hearing his tail kick, she swam out of from the boulder's shadow, moving carefully to follow—

"Gotcha!"

"Aah!"

She flinched, tilting away from his smirking face leaning towards her.

"I knew there was someone following me," he muttered, his pupils narrowing to slits. "I thought I told you to stay away, fish girl. You know what happens now?"

The girl visibly trembled, tears brimming the corner of her eyes while she blushed at their close proximity. "I—I…"

"I'm gonna eat you," he growled, flashing his sharp teeth in a crooked grin. "Starting with the best part." He grabbed her waist, pulling her roughly towards him. She squeaked at the movement, her palms pressing against his chest while he smirked wickedly at her. "Your tail."

She moved her hands to her mouth, peeking up at him with a rosy blush coloring her cheeks. She peered at him through her thick lashes, her blue hair flowing in the water around her with the petals of her flower ornament swaying in the ocean current.

He twitched at the sight, feeling his own cheeks grow warm. "Oi, stop looking like that… I… I'm gonna eat you…"

She whimpered softly, the cute little sound escaping from behind her hands.

He cursed under his breath, roughly shaking his head and focusing his wandering thoughts.

"Okay, listen up!" he barked, gripping her upper arms as her hands fell from her face. Her arms were thin in his grasp, as if any sudden movement would break her, but he shoved the thought to the back of his mind, concentrating on the task at hand. Her blushing face and glistening eyes weren't going to be a distraction, dammit. "This is a simple rule: eat or be eaten. No offense, but your fate is to end up in my stomach, so stop looking like this. Close your eyes, and I promise I'll do it short and sweet."

She stared up at him, her large blue eyes bright and further accentuated by the shade of her hair. They were almost pretty, he noticed, until she covered her eyes behind her hands and peeped a timid, "Okay."

He blinked at her acquiescence, leading another damn blush spread across his cheeks. How was she so obedient? So willing to lay down her life, just like that? Where was the fun of the fear in her eyes, the thrill of seeing her squirm?

Clicking his tongue, he looked away, grumbling under his breath. Her hands gradually lowered from her eyes, resting over her cheeks as she peered up at him.

"Forget it," he muttered, begrudgingly returning his gaze to her. "You spoiled my appetite… next time there won't be any mercy, got that?"

She blinked, lowering her gaze to his mouth, and then she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. His eyes instantly widened, but the sensation only lasted for a brief moment before she quickly pulled away.

Jerking back, Gray swiped his mouth with the back of his hand, staring at her in bewilderment. "What—What the hell was that?!"

The girl looked away and placed her fingers over her mouth, giggling to herself with a deep blush painting her cheeks. "Just like the humans."

His eyes narrowed dangerously, "What?"

When her gaze rose to his, her face flushed pink under the intensity of his piercing stare. "U-Um, Juvia just wanted to try what the humans do. It means 'thank you', she thinks." Swimming away while covering her mouth, she softly peeped, "Did Juvia do it wrong?"

Gray muttered under his breath, looking away. "You really _are _naïve, aren't you, fish girl?"

"Juvia," she said.

"What?"

"My name… is Juvia," the girl repeated quietly. Leaning towards him, she tilted her head, her cheeks flushing as she added, "I want to be your friend."

Gray stared blatantly at her, studying her face. She wanted to be his friend. Even though he ate her kind for a living. Was she serious?

He furrowed his brow, squinting at her. "I don't make friends with food."

"Juvia isn't food," she pouted.

"Yeah?" he replied, raising a challenging brow. "Then what are ya?"

She met his eyes, her gaze stubborn yet insistent. "Your friend."

Gray's amusement fell from his face, a heavy frown setting in his features. "You don't even know my name."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Not important," he replied. "You won't live long enough to remember it anyway."

Fear flashed in her eyes, but interestingly enough, she didn't shrink away. She still held her ground, floating in front of him, despite the fact that her body began to tremble.

Her distress was so entertaining.

"But," he added, tilting his head and looking in her eyes, "say we are friends. What would we do then?"

Juvia grew quiet, idly glancing around while wrapping her arms around herself. "J… Juvia doesn't know."

Gray arched a brow, looking at her suspiciously. "What do ya mean you don't know? You don't got any friends?"

She looked back at him, silent. Gray blinked before clearing his throat, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Er, right. Well, what do you do for fun?"

"Fun? Um… oh!" Her face instantly brightened, and the fearful trembling in her body was suddenly replaced with quivering excitement. "Juvia goes collecting!"

"Collecting?" Gray echoed, raising an inquisitive brow.

"Yes!" the girl replied excitedly. "Do you want to see?!"

"What?" he said. "I, um—"

"Follow Juvia!" she chirped, dashing through the sea with her tail kicking behind her. Gray furrowed his brow as he watched her go.

He could just let her leave, and that would be the end of it. If she knew what was good for her, he'd probably never see her again. But… he had never let a prey escape him alive, and she did look so delicious…

Setting his jaw, he swam forward, reluctantly trailing after her.

* * *

She was a fast swimmer, he noticed. Not fast enough for him, but he certainly wasn't drifting along to keep up with her.

The way she darted through the water was impressive. She was clearly familiar with the area, zipping through the currents and moving with the flow to accentuate her speed. Her blue mermaid tail would jolt, her yellow fin gliding swiftly, and her body spun through the ocean while Gray followed behind.

Before long, he found himself in an underwater cove with columns of rows surrounding him, Juvia happily darting around each layer and picking up a new treasure to share with him.

"This one Juvia found in an abandoned ship," she announced, showing him a shattered glass of a ship in a bottle. "This boat is tiny compared to the one Juvia found it in. That one was huge!" She stretched her arms out on either side of her, "So big, much, much bigger than Juvia!" Picking up a broken music box, Juvia held it before his face. "This one Juvia found on the shore of a beach. The mother placed it there and whispered a prayer that a mermaid take it to the bottom of the ocean, so… Juvia took it there." She placed it down tenderly, gently tracing the intricate pattern on the box with her finger. "This box belonged to her daughter. Juvia remembers seeing the two of them together, and Juvia let the girl see her once… she was very happy." Snapping out of her melancholy, she swam up a couple rows, lifting a cigar pipe. "This treasure was thrown away deep into the sea—"

As she trailed off, Gray glanced around the cove. The sun's rays streamed in the ceiling, highlighting the diverse collection she'd gathered. It must had taken her a while, given the amount of objects filling every row of this cove alone.

Something silver glinted in his peripheral vision, catching his attention. Turning his head, he arched a brow at the item, taking it in his hand. It was a sharp silver dagger, the edge particularly jagged with the handle laced in glittering jewels.

"Hey," he called, interrupting her speech as he held the blade in his opposite palm and turned the dagger over, "what's this one?"

Juvia paused, glancing down to the item in her hand before taking it from his grasp. "Juvia will get to it, shark-san, but she must finish this row first."

_Shark-san? _he echoed in his head, fighting the amused smirk twitching on his lips. Her weird speaking habit, coupled with her strange courteousness—yeah, she definitely came from different waters.

She continued rambling on, and he half-listened, leaning his side against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. When she took a pause to catch her breath, he placed down whatever object he'd been idly inspecting, giving her a side-glance. "You have a lot of human things."

"Almost everything is," Juvia replied matter-of-factly, and Gray arched a brow. It was almost as if she was… proud of it.

"You like the humans," he concluded, his mouth setting in a thin line.

Holding a small handmade doll—a _teru teru bozu_, she called it—Juvia idly stroked the cloth. "They… fascinate Juvia, but her view of them is… complicated."

He stared hard at her, his jaw clenching as her gaze grew distant.

"Juvia… was very young when her parents died. They were killed—"

"—by the humans," Gray growled.

"No…" Her lashes lowered, her fingers delicately gliding down the outline of the doll. "They were killed by sharks."

His eyes narrowed. "If they were killed by sharks, why would you want to be around one?"

"Just because one shark hurt Juvia doesn't mean all will," she retorted, shifting her gaze to his. "Juvia doesn't believe that."

"You're naïve," Gray scowled.

"Juvia knows the humans can kill too," she replied. "But… not all of them do. One rescued Juvia, soon after she lost her parents. Juvia's fin became caught in a rock, and there was a boat coming towards her. She could see the propellers spinning towards her, and she thought—" She tensed up, staring vacantly before slowly regaining her voice. "Juvia thought… she was going to die, but then, a human came. He was wearing a mask, something like…" She glanced around herself before picking up a scuba diving mask, "something like this. He moved the rock and let the Juvia escape. He didn't try to follow Juvia, or take pictures of her… he just saved her."

Swimming towards the ceiling of the cove, she looked up to the sky, fixing her gaze on the drifting clouds.

"Their customs are different, and they look different, but the sky connects us, the land and the sea. But on land, they have such freedom, and so many wonderful sights… does shark-san know what a tree is?"

"A tree," Gray repeated flatly, his head tilted back to look up at her.

Juvia nodded gently, a dreamy smile curving her lips. "There are many different kinds on land. When they are gathered together, the humans call it a forest. Juvia wants to see one… she wants to see all the sights humans have."

Gray clicked his tongue, swimming up to her side. "You know," he said, circling her, "there's a legend that mermaids devour human souls, so even if you got near 'em, you'd probably just kill 'em."

Juvia pouted at him, and Gray almost laughed at her sour expression. "That's not true," she mumbled. "Just because you hear something doesn't make it true."

"That right?" he mocked.

"Everyone says shark people are scary," she retorted, "but Juvia doesn't think shark-san is scary."

"You don't find me scary?" He swam towards her, amused as she instinctively shrank away from him, soon finding her back against a wall. He raised his hand and flicked out one black claw, dragging it across her cheek before roughly grasping her jaw. "You sure about that?"

Her eyes widened as her body grew incredibly still, and he thrived off the terror in her gaze. Chuckling, he suddenly released her face, passing his hand through his hair.

"Don't delude yourself," he said. "You can get your fin wet over the humans all you want, but I ain't like you. You're still my food, just like they're still killers."

"S-Shark-san—"

"And the name's Gray," he added. "Stop calling me this 'shark-san' shit. Sounds weird."

She stared at him, eyes wide at the sudden revelation. "Gray…" she repeated hesitantly. "Like… your tail."

The appendage flicked upon mention, curling behind him while he snickered. "Yeah. Sure."

She took his hand, making him blink as she shook it in her own. "Juvia is pleased to officially meet you," she said, tilting her head with a warm smile on her features.

He blinked at her, feeling an unfamiliar feeling stir in his chest. Snapping his gaze away, he looked down at her hand holding his, furrowing his brow in confusion. "What are you doing?"

She looked at him, only to follow his pointed gaze and erupt in a blush. "Ah—um—Juvia always see the humans do this when they meet someone, so…"

"Tch," he sneered, ripping his hand out of her grasp. "Don't associate me with them."

"Sorry," she said quickly, scooting away from him.

He arched a brow, then scoffed. "Whatever. S'not that big a deal."

"…Gray," she murmured, but when he looked at her, she was looking at the ground, saying his name slowly as if to memorize it. "Gray… Gray… Gray…sama."

He squinted at her. Gray-sama? It sounded so… foreign, definitely something he'd never heard before.

She shrunk under his gaze, ducking her head and clasping her hands to her chest as though she were about to get scolded. "Sorry," she peeped again. "Did—Did Juvia do something wrong?"

He simply stared at her, noting the timid uncertainty in her gaze. She seemed to cower further away from him the longer he held his silence, so he cleared his throat, brushing off her worries with a casual shrug.

"Do whatever you want."

"Gray-sama," she said once more, experimentally, and his eyebrows furrowed at the sound. It would definitely take some getting used to. "Um…"

He glanced at her, finding the luminescent rays from the surface casting into the underwater cove and passing over her features. She was fidgeting slightly, shyly pressing the tips of her fingers together as her gaze averted to a corner.

"Juvia… just wanted… to thank you."

He lifted a brow at this, idly ruffling his hair. "For what?"

She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "For, um… listening to Juvia talk about her treasures. She's never had anyone to share them with before."

He blinked. "Oh. Uh—" Clearing his throat, he rubbed the back of his neck, directing his gaze to the view above him before he heard her voice peep once more.

"Does Gray-sama have any treasures?" she asked. He looked at her, finding her eyes trained on the pendant on his neck. "Like… Gray-sama's necklace, maybe?"

"Huh?" he said, glancing down and taking the shark tooth necklace in his hand. "This thing?"

"The tooth looks like Gray-sama's," Juvia remarked. "It must be very special."

He fell eerily quiet, lost in the memories assaulting his mind. A cage with thick metal bars, sparks lighting up the dark ocean depths, thick, permeating clouds of blood—

He felt a hand over his, snapping him out of his thoughts. He hadn't realized he'd clenched his jaw, or that his hand was curled so tight it was shaking in unrestrained fury. Her hand was soft against his, gentle in stilling his trembling, and her face was creased with concern, worry evident in her ocean blue eyes.

"It's nothing," he muttered, but she frowned when his hand resumed shaking and his teeth ground together. "Just a reminder that I got a vengeance to pay."

* * *

In the shadow of an underwater cave, Gray glanced to the pendant on his neck, clenching his teeth.

He and the fish girl parted ways not too long after. She had finished showing him her treasure collection, and he was no longer interested in making any more small talk. Before he left, she had taken his hand, asking when she would be able to see him again.

Her persistence puzzled him. He clearly frightened her, and she was very aware of his threat, yet she still insisted on staying in his company.

Normally he wouldn't even entertain the idea. He would just bite her, taste her sweet mermaid tail and devour her like any another delicious meal. But with the burdening reminder on his neck weighing him down, he realized something.

This strange little fish girl was more than just a tasty dinner. She had something he needed.

Everyone knew the legend—drink a mermaid's tear and gain their life span of 300 years. Sharks barely had a quarter of that life expectancy. At most, they lived to 30 years—they were lucky if they made it to 25.

At 20, Gray knew his time was getting limited.

Maybe it was fate, then, that he found her tangled in the human net. She reminded him of the vengeance he swore to take, and provided a means to get it done. All he had to do was make her cry, and given her insistence on seeing him, it would hardly take long. Once she shed her tear, she'd be nothing more than a tasty meal.

Simple as that.


	2. ascolta

**Author's Note: **What's up guys! Got an exam on Wednesday, paper on Friday, another paper next week, plans this upcoming weekend… yeah! Uni life! Hehe aside from that, oh man, your guys's responses were so SO nice oh my goodness ;u; Thank you so so much! Feedback really drives writers man, you guys have no idea. Thank you for not only reading, but telling me what you think :) I hope this next part will be satisfying ;u; Thank you _mirajens _for helping me sort this out ;u; Take care!

* * *

**Oltremare**

Summary: [AU] He only meant to make her cry, not fall in love with her. [Gruvia]

* * *

**ii – ascolta**

"Where is Gray-sama taking Juvia?" the mermaid asked, trailing behind him.

"I told you, you'll see," Gray replied, kicking his fin faster. The girl frowned at his accelerated speed, straining to keep up with him.

"Gray-sama is swimming too fast!" she whined, losing visual of him as a stream of bubbles shot in front of her. "Aah!"

"We're playing a game," she heard him say, her eyes glancing around to locate him. "The humans play it all the time."

"Eh?" she blinked, only to scream once more when another geyser shot in front of her. _"Gray-sama!"_

"What's the matter?" he taunted, coming into view as the bubbles dissipated. Her fearful eyes met his as he smirked at her, crossing his arms before his chest and floating leisurely on the opposite side of the underwater geyser.

"J-Juvia doesn't like this place," she pouted, wrapping her arms around her trembling body and glancing around herself. "Sh-She's afraid—"

"What, of a little hot water?" She looked back at him, only to shriek at another burst of heat. Gray snickered at the sound. "Fine. Swim over here and we'll leave."

Her lower lip quivered, eyes watering as she glanced down to the geyser. Spotting her glossy eyes, his pupils narrowed to slits, his smirk growing wider on his features.

Good, just as he expected. She'd start crying any second now, whether from fear or getting accidentally burnt. Either way, he'd have what he needed, and she'd be of no further use to him. Who knew it'd be so simple.

He knew he couldn't touch her to make her cry—that'd only scare her away. No quick bite, no slash with his claws, nothing; but if she _accidentally _got hurt, well, that wouldn't be his fault, so she'd have no reason to stay away. He'd get his tear, and a tasty dinner too.

This silly fish girl, so oblivious and naïve, foolishly following him into a dangerous area just on his say-so. She brought it on herself.

Hearing the subtle rumble in the geyser, Gray flashed his eyes down before returning to her face.

"Come on, fish girl," he pressed. "You wanna leave, don't ya? Get over here already."

Juvia trembled, holding herself tighter and cowering away. "J-Juvia…"

"Better go now, before it erupts again."

The girl shut her eyes, ducking her head.

"Don't be so scared. It's easy, see?"

Her eyes opened once more, flickering upwards to see him leisurely swimming back and forth over surrounding geysers around him. He returned to his original spot, curling his tail and crossing his arms once more.

"There," he said, glancing down before meeting her eyes. "Ready?"

Juvia quivered, inching forward. "G-Gray-sama will be on the other side?"

He shrugged. "I ain't goin' anywhere." He could see the heat beginning to build up, making his mouth quirk in a grin. "On my count, got it? One… two—"

She burst forward, dashing through the water, but the geyser exploded just then, singeing the end of her tail. She collided into his chest, sending him back a few feet, but the ear-splitting scream she let out was like music to his ears.

As the geyser died down, her body shook against his, small whimpers spilling from her lips as her hand brushed against her tail. Smoke rose from the tip of her gold fin, making her cringe before turning towards his chest.

"You okay?" Gray asked, though the girl was oblivious to the emptiness in his tone. His hand against her chin coaxed her face up, bringing her eyes to his gaze as he studied them closely. "Does it hurt?"

She nodded silently, lowering her face.

"No—look at me," he ordered, tipping her face up once more. She stared at him, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks as he leaned closer and flickered his gaze from one eye to the next.

Her eyes were watery, a thin sheen glossing over them, but—

"Why aren't you crying?" he asked bluntly, pressing his thumb to the corner of her eye. "Doesn't it hurt?"

"Y-Yes…?" she mumbled, wincing when he lifted her tail. _"Don't—!"_

She smacked his hand away, but quickly recoiled, retreating her hands to her chest and ducking her chin.

"Sorry! Sorry…"

Gray furrowed his brows, perplexed. He didn't understand—she was in physical pain, but wasn't crying. Her eyes were watering, and she whimpered at first, but now she wasn't making a sound, not even sniffling. Even earlier, when she was terrified, she was… emotional, but quiet. Like how she was now. Emotional and quiet.

So consumed in his thoughts, he didn't notice the close proximity between them until she shyly touched her forehead to his chest. He grew rigid at the contact, glancing down with narrowed eyes, but she cut him off before he could speak.

"Thank you… for catching Juvia."

He paused, raising a brow. Thanking him? When he was the reason she got hurt in the first place?

This girl… she didn't cry to physical pain, or fear—she just took it silently. So if those didn't work…

Slowly, his arms rose, circling around her waist. It was an awkward gesture, foreign to him, but she seemed to relax against his embrace, nestling a little closer.

Her mermaid tail swayed gently in content, coaxing a smirk on his lips. So easy to manipulate. Seemed there'd be another way to get what he wanted, after all.

* * *

"Oh? Awake bright and early once again?"

Gray came to an abrupt halt, scowling at the silver-haired shark obstructing his path. "Lyon. Outta my way."

"You seem different," Lyon noted. "For one thing, you're getting up at a decent hour—"

"—Fuck off—"

"—and you don't reek of blood anymore. Is it wrong that I'm concerned about my little brother's affairs?"

"We're not brothers," Gray scowled.

Lyon feigned a look of hurt. "Maybe not by blood," he replied, "but certainly, you haven't forgotten—"

"I haven't."

The silver-haired shark tilted his head, meeting Gray's hardened stare. "Is that so? Because you seem distracted lately, distracted by a pretty little tail."

Gray clenched his jaw, growling quietly under his breath. "You've been following me?"

Lyon shrugged nonchalantly. "I was curious where you were rushing off to every morning. I'd say you were selfish for keeping such a tasty meal to yourself, but…" He turned his head, giving Gray a side-glance, "you haven't tried to kill her, not once."

"Not yet."

"'Yet'?" said Lyon. "Tell me, what are you waiting for? You've never toyed with your food for so long, and she looks delicious—"

"No one touches her," Gray snarled, baring his teeth.

"Oh?" Lyon said, raising a mocking brow. "So touchy? Why, is she becoming more than a tasty meal to you?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Gray snapped, furrowing his brow in a glare. "If you drink a mermaid's tear, you can live up to three-hundred years. I'm already twenty, so I've got ten more good years at most, and I refuse to die until I kill the human who killed Ur."

"And you think playing humans with her will get her tear?" Lyon replied dryly. "A simple bite would suffice. It typically does."

"Not with this one," Gray retorted. "She doesn't cry under pain. Just freezes there, silent. She needs something different."

"So what is it you have in mind?" Lyon asked.

"Do what I do best," Gray replied. "Break her heart. Then you can eat her for all I care. I just need her to cry."

"There's more than just tears of anguish, Gray," another voice entered. He turned towards the source, finding Erza swimming towards him before folding her arms across her chest. "You don't need to break the girl's heart."

"Yeah?" he countered. "Then what other method do you suggest?"

"So cold," Lyon mocked, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head.

"Tears of happiness," Erza replied simply. "Crying is not only for times of sadness."

Gray stared at her, his eyebrows furrowing before his mouth twisted in a frown. "The difference doesn't matter—she's just a naïve fish-girl. She's mine until I make her cry, then I'm gonna eat her, simple as that." He gave a low growl, baring his sharp teeth. "You tell everyone else to fuck off, or I'll kill 'em too."

"Gray-sama!" a sweet voice called, catching him by alarm. "Juvia found a new spot! Gray-sama!"

Gray whipped his gaze towards her, eyes widening upon finding Juvia swimming eagerly towards him.

"Gray-sama—!"

"Quiet!" he hissed, meeting her halfway and slapping a hand over her mouth. "What are you doing here? I told you never to come here!"

Juvia blinked before shifting out of his grasp, lifting her face from his hand. "Juvia knows, but Gray-sama! Juvia is so excited—!"

"Idiot!" he snapped, making her flinch at his reprimanding tone. "Don't you know where you _are_? This is a _shark lair,_ everyone here wants to tear you apart! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

Fear flashed across her eyes as she timidly leaned away. "I-I…"

"Calm down, Gray," Erza said, placing a pacifying hand on his shoulder. "She's safe here, don't worry."

"I ain't worried!" Gray snapped, whirling around while Juvia ducked behind his back. Erza ignored him, peering over his shoulder to the shy mermaid hiding behind him.

"She's cute," she remarked, a kind smile crossing her lips.

Juvia blinked, tentatively meeting her gaze while Gray scoffed. "Shut up."

"She _is_ cute," Lyon added, swimming lazily around Gray as Juvia's eyes warily followed him. "I wonder… is she just as tasty too?" He snapped his jaw, making the girl cower away while Gray growled through clenched teeth.

"Asshole!" Gray snarled, pushing Juvia behind him and turning around. "What did I just say? You tryna die early?!"

"Such pretty words for your pretty mermaid," Lyon retorted, raising his nose in the air. "But we both know how empty they are."

Gray sneered, cracking his knuckles. "We ain't kids anymore, ya bastard."

"Yet you've hardly grown," Lyon replied flatly.

Gray's pupils slit as he raised his claws. "We'll see about that."

"Try not to bore me, will you?"

"You fucking—"

"Gray. Lyon," Erza's cut in sternly, coming between them. "Not now."

She shot them both strict looks, particularly lingering on Gray. He paused before scoffing, whipping his head away as his dark pupils dilated to normal.

"Hmph. Whatever."

He took Juvia's wrist, snapping her out of her petrified gaze as he swam towards open waters. Flipping Lyon off behind him, the silver-haired shark merely arched a brow, raising his nose and letting him off.

Once a sufficient, distance away, Gray threw Juvia in front of him, releasing her wrist. "Idiot!" he scolded, curling his lip in a sneer. "Don't go doing that again, you hear me?"

The girl ducked her head and massaged her wrist, slightly reddened under his firm grasp. "S-Sorry, Juvia's so… she didn't mean to…"

Gray studied her rueful form before heaving a sigh, ridding the anger from his eyes. "It could've been much worse, got that? You're lucky it was just Erza and that bastard Lyon. Erza doesn't eat your kind, anyway—"

"Sorry…"

He glanced at her, finding her gaze lowered to the ocean floor. Passing a hand through his bangs, he scratched his hair before exhaling a breath. "Yeah, well, what were you thinking, anyway?"

The girl frowned, holding her hands before herself. "Juvia… was just… excited…"

"Over your new spot?"

"Yes… and…" Her eyes shyly raised to his, a bashful blush coloring her cheeks, "to see… Gray-sama again…"

Gray stared at her, feeling an unfamiliar clench in his stomach. It had been as Lyon said—he had been getting up early the past week to meet her out in the waters, where she'd drag him on some treasure collecting adventure. It'd been all part of his plan to get her to fall for him, but he couldn't deny that he sometimes looked forward to meeting her. Some of the things they found were pretty cool, and she wasn't the _worst _company—

He roughly shook his head, refusing to dwell on his thoughts. "So," he muttered, clearing his throat, "we gonna see this new spot or what?"

Juvia's face sprung up then, a cheery smile spreading across her features. "R-Right!" she chirped, turning around and dashing away.

She left eager bubbles in her wake, eliciting a half-chuckle from Gray as he followed behind her.

* * *

The way she looked at treasure was interesting.

She was so genuinely captivated, her eyes wide and her lips formed in a small 'o' as she held various objects close to her face. Sometimes she turned to him, asking him what this foreign item was, waiting expectantly as though he had all the answers in the world. It was… amusing, the way she looked up to him. Just because he answered her a questions a few times before, he suddenly became an expert, increasing her already strange admiration for him.

Strange fish girl. Strange… but entertaining, in a way he didn't expect.

He normally found entertainment in the cower of his food. The fear in their eyes and the tremble their bodies, freezing them to the spot. The way the ocean tinted red with their blood—such a delicious smell and sight—and the thrill of the chase, coupled with the satisfaction of winning… _that_ was entertainment.

But this girl… this innocent fish girl was just as entertaining. The way she crashed into his side every morning, always awake and cheery in the hours when the sun hadn't even risen over the horizon yet. The way her eyes lit up when she found something new, holding it carefully and cradling it close. Sometimes she'd keep a firm grip on his hand and lead him along from one excavation site to another, making sure he didn't fall asleep like the few times he had dozed off on a rock while she found something thrilling.

But the way her hand fit in his, or the amusement he found when her voice peaked from excitement; the eagerness in her face and the way her eyes sparkled when her gaze fell on him—all of it was… something, but he wasn't sure what.

Either way, she was growing fond of him, he could tell. But damn it—he wasn't supposed to be growing fond of her too.

* * *

_"Juvia read about it once." _

Gray swerved through the water, narrowly dodging a jagged boulder.

_"From a bottle floating on the sea." _

He slashed through the seaweed tangling in his way, clearing a path.

_"Juvia knows Gray-sama told Juvia to stay away from the surface unless he's with her, but…"_

One trench leading to another, then another. The tunnels seemed never ending.

_"Juvia was curious!" _

His eyes scanned his surroundings. Darkness. The caves were thick, not allowing a flicker of light to filter inside.

_"Inside was a message from a sailor about a discovery on human land. He talked about trees, and something called co-co-nuts… he said the juice was very sweet. Oh, and a water-fall! Can Gray-sama believe it?! Falling water! How exciting!"_

There were other creatures here, thick with bulbous eyes, watching him warily as he swam by. He glared back at them, baring his teeth. They made no move to challenge him.

_"Ah… but it makes Juvia sad." _

He made a sharp turn, rounding a corner.

_"Juvia will never be able to see this place, or any other places."_

A speck of light caught his attention, glimmering from above. His mouth lifted in a smirk. Finally.

_"J-Juvia isn't sulking! She just… Juvia has no legs. How can she see human sights with no legs?"_

He swam upward, kicking his fin faster, swishing his tail through the current.

_"It's alright… just hearing them is enough. It has to be." _

Breaking through the surface of the water, he tossed his hair out of his eyes, glancing around him. A satisfied smirk crossed his lips.

* * *

"Just hold on tight, got it?"

"Eh? Gray-sa—aah!"

Gray suddenly dashed forward, pulling her along with his hand on hers. Juvia squeaked at the sudden velocity, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks at the firm grip on her fingers. She squeezed his hand, keeping her grasp as he instructed, but she struggled slightly behind his great speed, lifting her gaze to the back of his head.

"Gray-sama?" she called, confusion laced in her tone.

"Make sure you don't let go," he said, meeting her eyes for a moment before pulling her into an underwater cave.

Darkness instantly deprived her vision, obscuring her senses. "Gray-sama?!" she cried worriedly, glancing blindly around herself.

He squeezed her hand, leading her through the foreign waters. "You still with me?"

She blinked several times, squinting her eyes. "Juvia… can't see…"

"I can. Don't worry."

"Where are we going?"

"Wait and see."

There were some taps along the walls, scrapes of claws and swishes of fins. She heard a growl pass Gray's lips before he pulled her slightly closer.

"Gray-sama…" she whispered, fear trembling in her voice. She could feel menacing eyes boring into her back, watching their every move. "Juvia… is scared…"

"Just trust me," he said. "You trust me, right?"

She looked forward in the darkness, gripping his hand tighter. "Yes…"

He chuckled, returning his gaze ahead of him. "Good. Look ahead."

The mermaid blinked, peering over his shoulder. A beam of light streamed from above, peeking her curiosity.

"Eh? What is—"

"Hold on."

With powerful kicks of his tail, Gray swam upwards, pulling Juvia up with him. Bubbles filtered her sight as she held a hand above her eyes, shielding herself from the blinding light. She heard the crash of water as they burst through the surface, lowering her hand lowering while droplets of water sprinkled around her.

Her eyes fluttered open, vision coming into focus, and she gasped.

The rush of the waterfall flowing into the river roared in her ears. The sight itself was magnificent, the height of the waterfall seeming to run for miles and miles, disappearing in the clouds of the sky above. Sharp boulders coated in a thin green moss bordered the cascade, contrasting the brilliant cerulean stream as the water flooded below.

Juvia stared with wide eyes, water droplets sliding down her cheeks and hair while her lips parted in awe.

"Falling… water…"

"Well?" Gray asked, releasing her wrist and raising a cocky brow. "Whad'ya think?"

Juvia turned slowly towards him, tearing her eyes away from the waterfall. "Gray-sama… found this for Juvia?"

"You said you wanted to see one, right?" He swam forward, placing his hand under the rushing water. "S'not _that _exciting, just like a bunch of raindrops falling in one place—"

"Gray-sama!"

Her body tackled into his, arms locked around his neck and blue tail flipping up and down. They both fell through the waterfall, drenched in the stream as Juvia leaned back and smiled bashfully.

"N-No one's ever done this for Juvia… Juvia is so happy!"

She crushed him in another embrace, making him flinch under her tight hold.

"Yeah, well," he mumbled, whisking his head away, "you didn't need human legs to see this, see? We're not as limited as you think."

Juvia loosened her arms, swimming back. "Thank you, Gray-sama! It's so pretty!"

She giggled merrily, diving back in the water before jumping through the waterfall. She squeaked at the touch of the water, springing up from the river and settling beneath the cascade. The stream washed over her form, drowning out her laughter as the water seeped through her fingers. Her hair clung to her cheeks, bangs matted to her forehead while rivulets of water trickled down her chin and neck. Gray found his eyes absentmindedly following their path before quickly glancing away.

"Falling water…" the girl giggled, closing her eyes with a smile. "Juvia never thought she'd get to see it!"

"That's not all," Gray said, making her flinch at the sudden voice by her ear. Her cheeks flushed dark at their close proximity as he leaned back, settling his hands on her shoulders.

"E-E-Eh?" the mermaid stammered, feeling a chill from the touch of his claws on her skin. The corner of his mouth lifted in a grin, his bangs falling over one eye as he tilted his head. She stared silently at him, breath hitched in anticipation as he pushed her back through the rushing waterfall, only to turn her around.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, eyes rising from the stillness of the river before widening in surprise.

"Aah!" she screamed, shooting forward and slipping from his grasp. She reached the shore of the riverbank, folding her arms against the soil and flopping her tail happily in and out of the water. "_Trees!_"

Gray chuckled at her childish antics, watching her tilt her head back to take in the entire sight of the tall trees.

"They're so big!" she gasped, eyes widening in awe. "Gray-sama! Do you see? They're bigger than Gray-sama and Juvia combined!" She squealed in delight, lifting herself as far as she could out of the water. "So… huge! And green! Gray-sama, do you see them?! All together—it's a forest!"

"I see 'em, I see 'em," he mumbled, falling into place beside her.

Juvia drew a deep breath, exhaling in content. "The air is so fresh… and the colors are so bright!" The girl sighed dreamily, looking to the branches and leaves with fondness and wonderment. "It's all so… beautiful…"

Gray studied her face, eyeing the gentle smile curving her lips and the thick lashes framing her soft blue eyes.

"…Yeah," he muttered quietly. "It is."


	3. caldo

**Author's Note:** This is definitely turning out to be longer than a three/four shot xD So I anticipate it will likely be six or seven chapters. Thank you so much for your kind responses! You guys are so sweet! You really spur me to continue writing for this, and I can't thank you enough!

I'm not sure if this one or the next chappie will be too amazing, considering they were both written between 5-7am xD I'm quite sleepy, but I pushed myself to finish for you guys :) I hope it's alright ;u; Kinda cheesy and that might be blamed 'cause I was listening to _Leaving California _by Maroon 5 while writing, so sorry if it's too cheesy x)

Also, special shout out to **wtf gray, ****Kyogan-Saori****, winterliebend** and **YouCan'tControlMe**—your guys' reviews completely make me swoon, I love you guys very much! Thank you thank you!

* * *

**Oltremare**

Summary: [AU] He only meant to make her cry, not fall in love with her. [Gruvia]

* * *

**iii – caldo**

"Ahh, Gray-sama and Juvia found so much today!" the girl beamed, swimming into her underwater cove with an armful of glittering treasure. "Juvia is so happy!"

"Told ya it was a good place," Gray replied, hovering over the seafloor while she cheerfully hummed.

"What kind of ship was it again, Gray-sama?" she asked, glancing briefly over her shoulder.

"Sunken cruise ship," he answered. "Humans would take it to travel across the waters for leisure."

"But only the wealthy could afford it, right?" she asked, watching him nod. "That's why all of the treasure is so shiny."

"Yep," he replied, reclining back and folding his arms behind his head.

"Gray-sama may hate the humans," Juvia said quietly, making him strain to hear her voice, "but he knows a lot about them."

He clenched his jaw, focusing his gaze on the ocean's surface. "You gotta know your enemy to kill 'em."

Juvia said nothing, the sound of jewelry rattling and chalices clinking the only conversation between them. Placing the last treasure in place, the girl lowered her gaze, slowly turning around.

"Gray-sama…?"

He opened an eye at her shy tone, peering down at her. "Hm."

Juvia twiddled her fingers, pressing the tips together. "Juvia… was wondering… if she could look at Gray-sama."

He arched a brow. "You already are."

She smiled weakly, a small laugh escaping her lips. "No, she means… _really_ look at him. Juvia has never seen a shark up close."

Gray sat forward, studying her carefully. "That could be dangerous."

She inched closer. "Juvia knows."

"You aren't afraid?"

"Juvia trusts Gray-sama."

He stared at her, narrowing his eyes. After a few moments, he closed his eyes with a shrug.

Swallowing nervously, Juvia swam forward, moving into place before him. His eyes met hers once more, dark and focused and making her shrink under his gaze. Her eyes roved over his features—his tousled dark hair, piercing eyes, thin nose and sharp jawline. Settling her gaze on his mouth, she stared silently, eyeing the rows of sharp teeth.

He was perfectly still when she touched him, tracing his lower lip with her finger before pressing her fingertip against the corner, baring his fangs. She leaned subtly closer, cheeks tinting pink at the proximity while her other hand moved to delicately rest on his jaw. Her fingers trailed lower, following the curve of his neck before brushing gently at his gills.

He suddenly reacted, his clawed hand instinctively reaching out and tightly grasping her neck. Such a frail, delicate neck, so easy to snap in his claws—

She gasped under his choking grip, flinching when he growled and opened his mouth dangerously wide.

"Gray-sama," she whispered, feeling him tilt her face back.

He paused for a moment, returning to his senses as he gradually closed his mouth. "You're not afraid," he murmured.

Juvia looked at him, meeting his eyes. "I trust you," she replied softly, placing a gentle hand on his wrist. "Trust Juvia too."

He squinted, watching her lift his claws from her neck, only to lace her fingers in the spaces between them. She raised her other hand and did the same, intertwining their fingers.

She smiled at him, soft and tender, but his gaze was trained on their interlinked hands and the stark contrasts between them. His, rough and calloused, with sharp, dangerous claws, and hers, soft and delicate, small with trim nails.

Her hands slipped from his, leading his gaze to raise to hers, but he only saw a glimpse of her hair as her arms wrapped around his neck. She glanced down to their tails, his grey, angled and broad, while hers was slender and curved, with golden fins at the tip.

Lowering her hands to his back, her fingers gently swept across the plains of his skin, following the dips of his shoulder blades. His body relaxed against hers, his eyes half-lidded and his chin propped against her shoulder.

Growing a little bolder, she brushed her fingertips along his fin, following down the scales to the arch of his dorsal fin. A jolt shot through him, making his body jerk against hers before his claws suddenly tore at her skin.

Juvia flinched, quickly distancing herself away as she placed a hand below the claw mark on her arm. Blood seeped from the wound, pluming crimson into the ocean. Gray's pupils dilated at the sight and the sweet scent tickled his nose, but he quickly caught ahold of himself, immediately lowering his claws.

"Sorry," he muttered under his breath, swimming a short distance away and slashing a blade of seaweed. "Told ya it'd be dangerous."

Juvia said nothing, only held out her injured arm when he offered her the makeshift bandage. He stalled before wordlessly dressing the wound, securing the binding with a firm knot.

"Now are you scared?" he muttered, tightening the knot into place.

Juvia shook her head. "No."

Gray chuckled dryly. "Stupid. You should be."

She softly placed her hand over his, squeezing gently. "Juvia still trusts you."

There it was. That annoying stomach clench again. He clenched his jaw and averted his gaze, grinding his teeth.

* * *

He felt a tap on his shoulder before Juvia swished by him, giggling, "Tag! You're it!" as she sped ahead.

Gray arched a brow, watching her swirl in the ocean current until she came to a gradual halt. Noticing the absent shark behind her, the mermaid turned around, pouting her lips.

"Gray-sama! You're supposed to chase Juvia!"

He blinked at her. "I'm supposed to what?"

"Chase!" Juvia whined, swimming towards him. "It's a game!"

Gray idly scratched his hair, giving an indolent shrug. "Never heard of it. Besides, you sure you should be swimming around like that?" His eyes fell to the bandage on her arm before lowering to her tail, swaying gently in the water. "You should be more careful, with your wounds n' all—"

She suddenly gasped, making his gaze return to her face as her hands covered her mouth.

"What?" he squinted.

Juvia slowly lowered her hands, fingers brushing her chin with a faint blush on her surprised face. "Gray-sama… is concerned for Juvia?!"

"Huh?" he frowned, fighting the heat rising to his face. "No, that's not—"

"Juvia knows," she peeped, lacing her fingers together behind her back.

Gray narrowed his eyes. "Know what?"

"Gray-sama…" she began, swimming a circle around him, "is just afraid of losing!"

She tapped his shoulder once more before kicking her fin and bursting forward, laughing along the way. Gray twitched, letting the corner of his mouth rise in a grin before dashing after her.

"You think you're faster than me?" he smirked as Juvia swam in lazy loops, looking back at him with a playful smile. She squeaked when he reached an arm out and almost grabbed her, immediately speeding ahead. "You're forgetting something."

"Eh?" she blinked, tilting her head back at him.

He smirked wider, dark eyes glinting in challenge as his dorsal fin skimmed the surface of the ocean. "Sharks _always_ catch their prey."

She squealed and dove into a brush of seaweed, stifling her giggles while Gray circled around her. His dark eyes sifted through the algae before he raised his claws and slashed diagonally, parting the brush and revealing a surprised Juvia laughing behind it. She whirled upwards, well aware of the shadow trailing behind her as she swam through an underwater trench. Swerving through the columns, she swished her tail faster, hiding behind a stone pillar before peering around it.

She glanced to her left. Nothing. Glanced to her right. Emptiness.

Puzzled, she looked above and below her, finding Gray nowhere to be seen.

She gradually swam out, eyeing cautiously around her before pursing her lips in a concerned frown.

"Gray-sama…? Where did you—_ah!_"

"Gotcha!"

A blur of grey collided into her, sending them both spiraling backwards. Juvia squealed as they swirled and swirled, spinning in circles until Gray pressed his palms against a pillar and Juvia found her back pushed against cool stone.

Bracing his claws against the stone, Gray grinned a triumphant smirk. "Told ya."

Juvia slowly opened her eyes, blinking as she looked up at him. "Waah! Juvia was so cl—close…"

Her eyes widened at the proximity between them, their faces merely inches apart. His arms were on either side of her face, his chest almost touching hers as they both caught their breath. His eyes were… intense, looking down at her like that, his pupils dilating once more from the slits they were.

She remembered touching that face, skimming his jawline and the gills on his neck. The toned muscles of his abdomen leaning against her smaller frame, the dips of his broad shoulders and back. She was just as close to him yesterday as she was now, his eyes just as fixed on her, but this tension, it was different. It was more… heated, sending a shiver up her spine and freezing her to the spot.

The stiffness in his arms relaxed, but he didn't move away. Instead, he seemed to be moving… closer, his head slanting slightly and his eyelids hovering low over his eyes. Immediately her heart pounded harder, thumping in her ears while her body grew incredibly still. Heat rushed to her cheeks as her lashes lowered, gradually coming to a close when his nose brushed against hers.

Everything around her seemed to fade, her only focus the weight of his body against hers and the cool breath fanning her lips—

_Zzzzzz—_

Her eyes snapped open, her head lifting to the ocean surface while Gray promptly leaned away. His claws dug into the stone in restraint, but she didn't notice, her eyes trained on the large shadow and the propeller spinning at the end of the vessel.

There was a mark, some kind of shape by the engine of the boat. It looked—she squinted a little harder—it looked like… her. A silhouette profile of a mermaid, her long hair, the outline of her chest, and the curve of her tail, resting behind her. Beside the image was the inscription of two words: _Lamia Scale_.

"…Hey," Gray's voice called, but it seemed distant. Her hands rose to his biceps and gently pushed them down, swimming upwards towards the boat sailing away. She didn't notice him call after her, his eyes watching her slip away from his arms.

A mermaid insignia on a human boat. What did it mean? Was her kind revered by the humans, like she revered them? Could they learn from one another? Their language seemed a little familiar to hers—maybe, if she got a little closer—

"Oi!" Gray shouted, racing after her. She didn't respond—she wasn't hearing him. What the hell was she so fixated on? Was she blind to the human standing at the edge of the boat, peering down at the shadows moving underneath the water? "Get down! Don't get so close!"

She was drawing nearer and nearer. A little closer, and she could touch the mermaid insignia with her own hand, the hand that looked just like the humans. They weren't so different, they had a connection—

_"Get down!"_

"Aah!"

She felt Gray's weight crash into her back, but not before she saw the gleaming tip of a harpoon flying passed them. He hissed behind her and the next thing she knew, they were breaking through the surface of the water, him slamming his hand over her mouth and pushing her against a boulder while he turned his head with narrowed eyes.

He was watching for something, but her eyes were trained on the red liquid rivulet trailing down his temple. Just above his brow, on his forehead, was a deep cut, smearing blood across his forehead and dribbling down his face. Her gasp was muffled by his hand, and he pressed his palm harder against her lips, completely stifling the sound. He flicked his gaze to hers from the corner of his eye, and the raw anger in them startled her before he returned his gaze out to the ocean.

When the boat's engines gradually faded away, he finally lowered his hand, but she flinched when his eyes returned to hers.

"What did I tell you?! Huh?!" he roared, making her shrink away from the volume of his voice. "_Never_ get close to human boats! Ever! That's how you get yourself killed!"

Juvia trembled, shakily meeting his eyes. "J—Juvia saw a mermaid insignia, so—"

"Don't be so naïve!" he snapped. She flinched, her eyes wide and hands laced at her chest. "What, you see some logo and think they wanna be friends? Idiot! Just a second later, and you would've—!"

He paused when he felt her hand on his face, stiffening at the contact. She wasn't looking at him, but at something above him, on his forehead. Her lower lip trembled and her eyes were sad, sorrowful as she brushed her fingers tenderly against his cheek.

"Gray-sama…" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

He stared hard at her, roving over her features: the wet hair clinging to her forehead and cheeks, the rosy color of her cheeks, her lower lip now caught between her teeth. Her lashes were wet with the seawater, but the _look _in her eyes… it was making his chest tighten.

"Oi," he called, frowning at the brush of her fingertips against his temple. Shy, cautious—just like her touches yesterday. "What's with that look, huh?"

"You're hurt…" she said quietly, her eyes trained on the blood seeping from his forehead, "and it's Juvia's fault."

He scoffed. "What, this? S'just a scratch—"

He froze when she pushed herself up, pressing her lips gently beside the cut. The kiss was soft, tender before she leaned back down, her lips coated with his blood.

He blinked at her, his stomach churning uncomfortably. His eyes became weary, half-lidded. "…What was that."

Her fingers still lingered on his cheek, hovering in the lightest of touches. "When… Juvia was watching the human mother and daughter…" she quietly explained, "and the little girl would hurt herself, the mother would touch her lips to the hurt spot. To help make it better."

His eyes were fixated on her lips, crimson red, glistening with his blood.

"Does… Gray-sama feel better?"

His senses sharpened at the sight. His teeth unconsciously bared, his nose reveled in the metallic scent. He could practically taste it on his tongue.

"…Gray-sama…?"

His hand rose, grasping her chin. Her breath hitched in her throat as he tilted her face up, her eyes locked on the slits of his pupils.

Her cheeks flushed dark at the hunger in his eyes. It wasn't an ordinary hunger—it almost seemed primal, licentious, sending her heart racing when he moved closer, holding her chin tighter.

"Red looks good on you," he growled. She only stared back at him, silent. There wasn't any fear in her eyes anymore, not like when he touched her before. She was actually holding his gaze, almost bravely, despite her cheeks coloring as red as her lips.

He pressed his thumb into her lower lip and swept it to the side, smudging the blood across her mouth. She made a small sound, something akin to a whimper, and the noise sent a violent chill up his spine. He could feel his pulse quickening, in excitement or anticipation, he didn't know. His blood surged through his veins, roaring in his ears—how would it taste, his blood, her lips—his blood off her lips—her lips against his—

"…Gray… sama…"

He snapped out of his daze, whipping his gaze to hers. She was blushing dark, her eyes clouded and flickering between his.

"You've… never looked… like this…" she whispered, a slight tremble in her voice. "W… Why… Gray-sa—"

He immediately dropped his hand from her chin, whisking his face away. Fuck, _fuck—_what the hell was wrong with him? What was he just thinking just now? He had to clear his thoughts, he needed to get away from her, needed to leave right now—

"I'm fine," he said quickly, avoiding her eyes. "Just—don't follow me."

He suddenly turned away from her, diving back into the water.

Juvia stared at the ripples left behind, speechless. Her fingers softly brushed her lips, where his own had been just moments ago.

He… he looked like he was about to—for the second time that day—

Her face flushed at the thought, and she slid down the rock, disappearing into the ocean. The trail he took was long cold.

* * *

It had been hours. Hours, but his mind was still replaying the scene, like it had happened minutes ago.

Gray cursed to himself, placing a hand over his eyes.

The wound on his forehead was deep, just as she said. The blood quickly washed off once he returned to the sea, but it took a little longer for the bleeding to stop. When it did, he traced the wound with his finger. There was indent, something like a scar. Great.

He'd never forget what happened now.

He closed his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts once more. Instead, he felt the brush of her lips on his forehead. His eyes snapped open, and he shot forward, glancing around himself. The sensation felt so lifelike—what the _hell_? What was going on?!

That kiss… no, it wasn't a kiss. She thought she was healing him. The naïve fish girl… did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

The touch of her lips against his skin… so tender, like a mother. Like Ur. Ur brushing his injured arm, massaging the healing aloe into place. Ur with the same look in her eyes—heavy, concerned, then smiling kindly, motherly.

The images were blending, crossing over. Short black hair—long wavy blue. Black eyes; blue eyes. Black shark tail; slender, blue mermaid tail.

_Fuck_. That feeling, when the fish girl kissed him like that… a feeling of security washed over him, but with something else. She… was _tempting_ him. Tempting him to taste more than her tail. But she was worrying over him, caring for him… feeling responsible for him, like he felt for her. Was feeling for her.

He pinched his nose, exhaling a loud sigh. God _dammit. _Suddenly this was getting way more complicated than he thought.

* * *

He was _hesitating_. Gray never hesitated once in his life.

It irritated him, but the feeling was gnawing at him. He knew she was there. Following him, just like when she first approached him. But he wasn't acknowledging her, not yet. Because he was _hesitating._

What would he do the next time he saw her? He barely slept the night before. He couldn't. Stupid, _stupid _feelings, conflicting in his chest, keeping him awake the whole night.

He should stop seeing her. Stop before he does something stupid.

He had to keep seeing her. Get her tears, then eat her. He didn't come this far for nothing. He didn't do everything he did for nothing.

But what if he couldn't contain himself—what if he ravished her, relished her taste and couldn't get enough of it. What if she bewitched him—he knew the rumors of the power of a mermaid's kiss. Alluring as much as deadly, addicting as much as pleasing. He refused to become entranced by her spell. Tch, succumbing to a foolish fish girl—Lyon would never let him hear the end of it.

Still. It was inevitable, confronting her. It was only a matter of time until—

"Ah!"

He stilled at the sound, glancing behind him. There was Juvia, wincing at having her fin caught by a Venus flytrap sea anemone.

The fish girl that had been plaguing his thoughts for the last day… was trapped by a sea anemone.

Juvia tugged on her tail, whining as the anemone's grip grew tighter. Gray rolled his eyes.

"Relax," he told her, watching her face snap to his. "If you relax, it'll loosen it's grip and you can escape."

Juvia blushed in embarrassment, bashfully ducking her head. "R-Right," she mumbled, following his instruction. Within moments, the anemone receded its hold, allowing her to remove her fin from its grasp. "Ah!" she squeaked, smiling bright at her newly freed tail. "Juvia did it!"

"Congratulations," Gray said flatly. "What part of 'don't follow me' don't you understand?"

She looked at him, her smile slightly faltering around the edges. Gray stared silently at her, studying her closely.

He didn't _seem _to have the same urges as before. If anything, far from it. She was silly, the same naïve fish girl like when he found her in the net. Was it the blood that made him react that way? The scent of his own blood and the adrenaline coursing through his veins?

"Ah… J-Juvia knows Gray-sama wanted to be left alone, but…" She fidgeted under his stare, fumbling with her hands. "Juvia… just wanted to see… how Gray-sama's wound was doing."

He blinked. "What, this?" He pushed his bangs up, revealing the scar underneath. "S'fine, see? All healed."

Juvia swam closer, a heavy frown curving her lips. "A scar…"

"Yeah, what about it? Ain't my first."

"But… Juvia—"

"Don't go making that face. Look, see this one?" He pointed to the x-shaped scar at his side, just above his waist. "First slash I got from Lyon. Persistent bastard didn't know when to quit—but I got him too. The other one, got that from another fight with a shark. Some are pretty territorial bastards, but it was a good warm up." Juvia stared at the mark, holding a hand to her mouth while Gray lifted his face to hers once more. "So don't go pitying me for some scratch on my forehead. I like my scars visible—looks cooler that way."

Juvia slowly lowered her hand, looking to the mark on his forehead. "If… Gray-sama says so…"

He eyed her, trailing his eyes from her face to her body before looking away. "Yeah, well… they're not meant for everybody. You're soft—it wouldn't suit you. So I'll take 'em for you, got it?"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, seeing her own widened in awe. "Really?" she asked softly. "Gray-sama will… protect Juvia?"

He scoffed, pointing to the scar on his forehead. "I already did, didn't I?"

Timidly, she reached her hand out, pushing his hair back to admire his scar once more. He silently let her, feeling her fingers card through the dark locks. The action sent a soothing sensation through his veins, relaxing his body.

After a few moments, he felt her hand slide down his face, resting against his cheek. He looked at her, finding her smiling warmly at him.

"Thank you," she said, "for protecting Juvia." Her thumb swept across his cheek. "Juvia will try and protect you too."

He looked away, scoffing at her, but when he returned his eyes to hers, her features were different. Older, more mature—dark hair, dark eyes—kinder, loving.

Ur.

He stared, suddenly feeling the passing years fade away in an instant.

The hand on his cheek was warm. Familiar. His pulse quickened in recognition. For a moment, he closed his eyes, reveling in the memorable touch. He felt lighter, peaceful—without the burden of her revenge weighing on his shoulders.

He opened his eyes to look once more, but Ur's features were gone, replaced with Juvia's eyes, Juvia's smile. The warmth still lingered on his cheek, and no matter how hard he blinked, it didn't go away.


	4. divenire

**Author's Note: **You guys are surreal. Your excitement, enthusiasm, eagerness and anticipation—just, aaah, blows me away! Thank you so much!

The next few weeks are quite busy for me. Paper due this friday, midterms on Monday &amp; Friday next week, Spring Break, then midterm again that following Monday—but then my weekday evenings are busy with school and clubs while my weekends are busy with just not being home which means being away from my computer. So with that said, I'll try my very best to fit in time to continue writing when I can, but bear with me buddies ;A; Your reviews are the most amazing encouragement though, thank you!

Quite a bit happens this chapter, so I hope you like it ;u; Take care everybody!

* * *

**Oltremare**

Summary: [AU] He only meant to make her cry, not fall in love with her. [Gruvia]

* * *

**iv – divenire**

Since when did his eyes start drifting towards her? Unconsciously seeking her out, feeling a sense of peace when they fell on her.

She wasn't even looking at him. She was sitting against a rock, combing her fingers through her hair. The wavy tresses floated aimlessly in the water, the petals of the flower adorned in her hair swaying in the current. She hummed softly to herself as she passed her fingers through the locks before gathering it in her hands and smoothing it over her shoulder.

He remembered the gentleness of her fingers, carding through his hair and pushing it back so she could peer at his scar. It sent a soothing sensation through his veins, relaxing his body.

Something about her calmed him. Something about her cleared his thoughts and made him think straight. His senses were sharper, his skills better. When this happened he didn't know, but he noticed the differences when he wasn't with her. Almost as though his body was unconsciously trying to impress her with it's sharpened senses and refined skills.

Her eyes finally flickered to his, and she immediately blushed upon meeting his gaze. The vibrant color splashing on her cheeks—that amused him too. She was always so flustered, so shy around him. It was a different form of intimidation, and it entertained him to no end.

Her hands immediately fell from her hair and she looked away, settling both her eyes and her hands in her lap. He swam towards her, leisurely, quirking a grin at the nervous peeks she snuck him and the way she blushed darker when he settled in front of her.

"What?" he murmured, lazily tilting his head.

Juvia peered at him, immediately returning her eyes to her lap once more. "S—Sorry."

"'Sorry?'" Gray repeated, lifting a brow. "What're you apologizing for? You caught me staring, not the other way around."

"Staring… at Juvia?" she peeped, self-consciously touching her hair. "Does—Does Juvia have something on her face?"

Gray chuckled, raising his hand and dragging his claw down her cheek. "Yeah," he murmured, grinning at the blush spreading to her ears and neck. "My claw."

Juvia flushed darker, pushing his hand aside while he snickered before her.

"You're strange, fish girl," he said, watching her eyes return to his. "You speak weird, and your manners are different. And…" He plucked the yellow flower her hair, eliciting a soft gasp from the mermaid as he held the flower to his eyes, "This flower ain't found in these waters."

Her hand immediately reached out for the blossom, but his other hand caught her wrist, lowering it between them. Juvia frowned, her eyes glancing between his own and the flower in his hand.

"Gray-sama—"

"Who gave this to you?"

"Don't—"

"Was it a gift?"

"Please be careful—"

"Where did you get this?"

"Juvia didn't."

"Huh?" he said. "What do you mean by that?"

Juvia frowned, tugging on her wrist. He released it shortly, watching her clasp her hands together before her chest. Another strange habit of hers.

"Juvia's flower…" she began, staring at the flower in his grasp. "It is not from around here. It is from where Juvia grew up."

"Where's that?" he asked.

She glanced down, looking somberly to the seafloor. "Far away from here. Juvia can't go back."

She felt a tucking against her hair, looking up to find Gray placing the flower slightly above her ear. She colored pink at the gesture, holding a hand shyly to her mouth while he smoothed it in place.

"You can't go back," he repeated quietly, passing his hand through her hair before returning it to his side. "Why not?"

Juvia raised her hand to the flower, softly brushing her fingers against the petals. Her eyes wavered to the floor once more, her lips tugging in a frown. "There… is nothing for Juvia to return to."

He studied her, falling silent. She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Juvia was very young when her parents died, yes. But Juvia had another family member—an uncle. But he… Juvia found him… bleeding… He went to go find Juvia this flower—he left for Juvia… to do something for her, because Juvia was always crying… and he…"

She closed her eyes, bowing her head and shaking. Gray stared at her, his mouth set in a thin line.

"How old were you," he asked lowly.

"Juvia was small," she whispered, her eyes barely opening. "She was… ten, maybe twelve…" Closing her eyes, she leaned forward, resting her forehead against his collarbone. "Juvia doesn't like to think about it too much…"

His eyelids lowered in a half-lidded gaze. "You've been alone all this time."

"Ah, not always," she replied, leaning back and closing her eyes with a smile. "Juvia has Gray-sama now!"

Her tone was bright, like her smile, but her smile was fake, forced on her lips.

He looked away, frowning. "That's only recently."

Juvia dropped her smile, her eyes glancing to his face before she leaned forward once more. "It's alright," she said softly, turning her face and resting her cheek against his chest, listening to his lulling heartbeat. "Juvia wasn't entirely alone the whole time."

"What do you mean," he asked quietly.

"Juvia met another," she answered. "Someone lost and alone, just like her. He was a shark, too, just like Gray-sama, but he didn't hunt Juvia. He was taken in by mermaids when he was a boy. He was kind. Gajeel-kun…"

She raised her hand, resting it beside her face against his chest.

"He was with Juvia for two years. He gave Juvia her bracelet… but Gajeel-kun was looking for someone, and he couldn't stay with Juvia forever. Juvia understood this. So she left… so he wouldn't have to tell her to. But Gajeel-kun told Juvia once, that if we ever got separated, to look at the sky. We will always see the same sky. So sometimes, when Juvia really misses him, she goes to look at the sky…"

"…and that's how you got yourself caught in the net," Gray mumbled. "You were distracted."

"Yes, but…" Juvia closed her eyes, exhaling a soft sigh. "If that never happened, Juvia would have never met Gray-sama."

He fell silent, clenching his jaw. She'd been alone all this time. No wonder her mannerisms were different, her enthusiasm strange. She wasn't just a foreigner—it'd been so long since she'd interacted with somebody, she'd forgotten how.

He looked down at the mermaid resting contently against him, reveling in the presence of another being. How was she so at ease after opening all that up for him?

"That's it?" he asked. "You don't got any questions for me?"

"Juvia does," she replied simply.

Gray waited, but silence fell between them once more.

"…Aren't you gonna ask?" he prompted.

"No," the girl answered. "Juvia will only listen."

His eyes narrowed at the reply. She wasn't going to pry? Even after she told him things she'd rather forget?

"You're strange," he repeated, but his tone lacked conviction.

Juvia only smiled.

* * *

Gently prying open the clams, Juvia placed aside the pearls she found, one by one. They were assorted in a neat line before she used Gray's claws to drill small holes on either side. He was confused at the idea, letting her pick up his claws and puncture accordingly, but once she finished, she resumed her business, and he was left to his thoughts once more.

Gathering a stem of algae, she smoothed it carefully before stringing the pearls together. She smiled as the curve of the necklace began to form, the little gems clinking together.

Huh. A necklace. Absentmindedly, his gaze fell to his own pendant around his neck. Hovering over a rock nearby, he stared at the shark tooth with a pensive frown on his face.

"Gray-sama?" the mermaid called, and it took him a few moments to register her voice as he glanced towards her. She tilted her head, her lips twisted in concern. "Are you all right?"

He chuckled bitterly, averting his gaze. "Yeah. Fine."

"What were you thinking about?" Juvia inquired.

"Nothing."

"Juvia doesn't think so." Placing the pearl necklace down, she turned to face him, a worried frown crossing her features. "Juvia won't ask, but… she'll listen, if Gray-sama wants."

Gray gave another half-hearted chuckle, looking to the sea floor. Even after everything she told him, she was still patient with him, not wanting to pry. Maybe, just this once, he could tell her something in return.

"…Do you remember when you asked me about this?" Gripping the shark tooth around his neck, Gray looked at her while she nodded. "It happened… on a night kinda like this."

Her brow creased as Juvia swam towards him, settling on the space before him with her fishtail tucked on her side. "What happened?"

He lowered his gaze, eyelids hooding over his dark eyes as he turned his face to the floor. "I got rescued too, like you, except my savior wasn't so lucky."

She fell silent, watching him wordlessly.

"This tooth belonged to my mother… my second mother. She took me in not long after I lost my parents, and she raised me and Lyon for a while. But I was an angry brat… I wanted to make those bastards pay for what they did to my mom and dad. I thought I saw the boat carrying the humans who did it, and I rushed after it, even though she told me not to. I should have listened…

They caught me in some cage, and they were going to kill me, but Ur helped me escape. But then they threw down some electrical net, and it got her. I'd never seen shocks like that except for lightning in the sky. They were dragging her away, and I tried to stop it, but I was just a tiny kid—the net was stinging, fuck did it hurt, but with her last breath she pushed me away. She smiled… and then they speared her, right through the stomach. I don't remember a lot after that, but when I came to, the ocean was still red with her blood, and Lyon gave me this necklace to remember her by. Been stuck with him ever since."

He laughed dryly, clutching the shark tooth tighter in his grasp. "We've been looking for her killers ever since, but… if I'd never gone in the first place…"

Her hands gently covered his, and he looked at her, finding her eyes glistening with empathy.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tenderly caressing his knuckles.

He chuckled scornfully, turning his face away. "What're you apologizing for."

But then he felt her arms around him, making his eyes widen as his cheek pressed against her chest and her hand rested against his hair.

"Gray-sama has lost too many people," she said quietly above him, bringing him closer to her. "Juvia is so…"

"I'm not asking for your pity," he muttered, his voice a low murmur against her skin.

She said nothing, holding him tighter instead. His eyelids lowered at her warmth, at the tenderness of her touch. It was familiar, nostalgic… almost like Ur's.

He leaned into her embrace, closing his eyes.

* * *

Floating along the surface of the ocean, Gray folded his arms behind his head, lazily swaying his tail while Juvia peered around a boulder. She was eagerly watching a pair of humans, a habit she fell into regularly, just observing their antics and behavior. Her eyes were wide in childlike wonderment, her tail lifting out of the water before lowering once more with an awed expression on her innocent face.

He studied her, quietly, watching her eyes grow wider when the humans would do something foreign to her. She really was curious, so fascinated to learn and assimilate into their ways, and the thought made him scoff.

"What's so interesting about 'em anyway?" he muttered, curling his lip in a disdainful sneer. "They ain't that special."

"Juvia wants to be on land," she sighed, propping her chin against her folded hands. "She longs to see all the places she's only heard about. Juvia thinks they'd be even more beautiful in person."

"We got nice places too," he mumbled, and she laughed, turning towards him with a kind smile.

"Yes, and Juvia was very happy when Gray-sama showed her, but…" She sighed once more, rolling her cheek on her hand and absently raising and dipping her tail. "It's not the same thing."

"It's not just the places," he told her, scowling. "You want to be with the humans too." He scoffed, "It doesn't make sense. They're selfish and violent, forcing themselves on others' lands—"

"We're not so different from them," she whispered wistfully, glancing to her hands. Soft, delicate, just like the humans'.

But his hands weren't like hers. He had claws, sharp claws that could easily tear her and those humans apart.

Clenching his jaw, he tore his gaze away from his hands. "Yes, we are."

She was quiet for a few moments, keeping her eyes trained on the humans. "Juvia knows some of them want to hurt Juvia, and she should be afraid, but…"

"You're not very good at staying away from things that make you afraid."

She looked at him, smiling gently as he stared back at her.

"What?" he asked.

The girl simply shook her head. "…Gray-sama can be violent too."

Gray turned his head, snorting. "Only when you're not looking."

"Juvia still sees."

"I'm nothing like them," he snapped, and she paused, sparing him a glance. "They kill our kind for sport and trade, I kill for survival. They're never going to change, and if you keep deluding yourself into wanting to be with them, you're just gonna end up dead sooner or later."

She stared at him, falling eerily silent. Then she lowered her face and turned away. "Maybe. But nobody would miss Juvia anyway."

He looked at her, watching the moonlight play off her features. Outlined in a silver glow, her tail swayed casually in the water, her folded arms propped against the rock in front of her while her silky hair cascaded down her back in loose blue waves.

He cursed to himself, looking away. Since when did he become nobody?

* * *

Juvia swam through the field of seaweed, her tail whishing through the algae as she swam in and out of the brush. Gray trailed leisurely behind, following her aimless direction before finding her playing with the kelp.

"Look, Gray-sama!" she cheeped, twirling around and wearing a piece of seaweed in her hair like a headband. "Does Juvia look pretty?"

She giggled as she swam around, kicking her fins side to side. Gray simply rolled his eyes, watching her childish antics before she added, "Here, Juvia will make Gray-sama pretty too!"

Slipping the seaweed from her hair, she swam behind him, wrapping the seaweed in his hair like a bandana.

"Hey," he grumbled as he tilted his head back, looking at her with a feign frown.

The girl only giggled once more, chiming, "Gray-sama looks even prettier than Juvia!"

He scoffed and she laughed, a musical little laugh that rang in his ears. Taking the strand of seaweed from her, he tossed it aside while she swam in front of him with a playful pout.

"Aw, always so serious, Gray-sama…"

He fell silent, merely studying her face. "How are you so cheerful?"

She paused, looking at him and tilting her head. "Eh? What does Gray-sama mean?"

He shrugged, giving an indolent roll of his shoulder. "I mean… you're so happy all the time, but it's not like your life's been sunshine and rainbows." She grew quiet, and he looked away from her silent gaze. "You don't gotta answer or nothin', I'm just saying. It's… different."

"Different…?" she asked as he spared her a glance from the corner of his eye. "Really? Juvia's only happy because Gray-sama makes her happy!"

He blinked. "What?"

"Gray-sama is Juvia's closest comrade!" she chirped, smiling bright. "So being with Gray-sama makes Juvia very happy!"

He turned towards her, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. "Comrade, huh?"

She beamed at him, only to squeak when he stood inches away from her face. "G-Gray-sama?"

He smirked at her, twirling a lock of her hair around his finger. "Is that all I am to you?"

Her cheeks flushed pink at the close proximity, her heart racing as he leaned even closer. "U-U-Um—"

Placing his hand against her jaw, he dipped his head down and pressed his lips against hers.

The girl stiffened against him, her face growing warmer under his clawed fingers. She closed her eyes and shyly responded to his kiss, only for him to pull away a few moments later, dropping his hand from her cheek.

Fluttering her eyes open, she shakily met his piercing gaze while her cheeks flushed to another shade of pink. "W-W—What—"

"Relax," he smirked. "I said thank you, like the humans do. Right?"

She stared at him, her gaze flickering back and forth between his dark eyes before he brought his mouth inches away from hers. His breath tickled her lips and she quickly shut her eyes, feeling herself grow dizzy from anticipation.

"Should I say it again?" he murmured quietly.

She squeaked, breath hitching in her throat, and the next thing she knew, she found herself waking up against a rock and a confused Gray floating above her.

* * *

"Juvia learned what it means."

"Learned what?"

"What touching lips means." Her face flushed at the topic, only to blush darker at the amused glint in his eye. "It doesn't mean thank you."

"Really?" he asked casually. "Do you know what the human term for it is?"

He could practically hear her heart racing in her chest, making him chuckle at the flustered look in her face.

So easy to read.

"Y-Y-Yes," she stammered, and he raised an expectant brow, awaiting her answer. "I-It's called… kissing."

"Right," he replied, regarding her under half-lidded eyes. "So what does it mean?"

"It… doesn't mean… thank you…" she mumbled as he idly nodded. "It's… what two people do… when they… l… l-love…"

He grinned at her, flashing his sharp teeth. "Do you want to kiss me, Juvia?"

She stared at him, cheeks flaming pink. "D—Does Gray-sama want Juvia to kiss him?"

He shrugged, casually glancing away before returning to her eyes. "Might be interested, if you are."

Her head spun at his words, her face flushing dark when he placed his hand against her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed as he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.

* * *

He knew mermaids tasted good, but he didn't know their lips tasted even better.

The first time she'd kissed him, he was caught off guard. But she left a taste lingering in his mouth, something sweet, something addicting.

The naïve girl who always blushed around him and blindly gave him her trust. She caught his interest.

The next time she kissed him, he knew he wouldn't be surprised again, because he would be the one initiating it.

She was painfully easy to read just by looking at her face—such an open book—but when his lips were on hers, he found she became somewhat unpredictable. Her hands were a little rough in his hair, pulling when he assumed his tongue hit a sweet spot in her mouth, and she shivered as his claws grazed down her sides, keeping her body pressed flush to his.

The edge of the rock dug deeper into her back, but she didn't seem to care. Rather, she tilted her head back and opened her mouth wider for him. He bit her lower lip with his sharp teeth, expecting to elicit a whimper from the fish girl, but instead she made a different sound. Small, from the back of her throat, and sounding suspiciously similar to a—

"Mm…"

And then his mouth was ravishing her neck, because the next thing he knew, he was consumed with an overwhelming desire to taste much more than her lips.

She seemed to like it, curling her fingers in his hair, squirming against him when his mouth sucked. Her tail brushed against his and his hand fell to her lower back, keeping her still while his tongue glided up the contours of her throat. Her eyes were closed as she tilted her head back, her lips parted with quivering breaths while he trailed kisses along her neck, swirling his tongue around her erratic pulse.

But then something burned in him, a different kind of hunger as he opened his mouth and revealed his sharp, pointed teeth. Before she could register what was happening, his teeth sank into her neck, sending a piercing pain ripping through her body.

She cried out as a rush of blood seeped from the wound, drifting aimlessly in the water. Her hand flew up, covering the bite as the other pressed to his chest to push him away, but his jaw had already closed down and he bit her again, this time catching the skin of her hand.

Ripping his mouth away, he locked his dark eyes on her, glinting with something dangerously feral. Her blood trickled down the corner of his mouth as he licked the edges of his jagged teeth, his eyes slitting at the strong bitter taste.

He'd never tasted anything better.

When he leaned towards her again, opening his mouth for another taste, she kicked her fins and hurriedly swam away. His jaw snapped at the water bubbles she left behind, and he clicked his tongue as he caught a glimpse of her tail fleeing behind one of the many rocks around them.

"Where you headed, fish girl?" he taunted, but his voice was raspier, huskier with a menacing tone. Swiping the blood from his mouth, he rumbled, "I thought you wanted to be my friend."

He leisurely swam around, gliding his tail lazily through the water. Her breath hitched at the silhouette of his shark fin, sinking further into the shadow of the large boulder she hid against.

"Come out come out wherever you are…"

He chuckled, sweeping his eyes across the rows of rocks below him.

"Now _this_ is what I call a chase."

Taking a breath, he smelled the stench of her blood, grinning a wicked, crooked smile.

"You taste good, fish girl. Give me one more bite… and I promise it'll be the last one you feel."

She closed her eyes, biting her lip to stifle the whimper from her wounds. The bites throbbed on her body, but no matter how much pressure she gave, it was only a matter of time before he'd smell her blood and—

"Gotcha."


	5. svanire

**Author's** **Note: **…I don't know where to begin aside from I am so, _so_ sorry for leaving this on a cliffhanger for like… four months. I promise you it was not to make some epic suspense or something lol. A _lot_ has happened in these last four months, so much so that if I really did explain, well, this would be too long of an author's note, and I can't assume any of you would be interested in the beautiful complications of my life anyway hehe.

But I read every single review, every single message, every single kind word you guys had to say. The fact that the fourth chapter has a little over triple the average review count for every other chapter shows me how adamant you guys were in showing your interest in this story, and I'm grateful and flattered beyond belief.

I wish I could tell you to expect more regular updates now. I really wish I could. But I genuinely don't know when I'll be able to. It's not just a question of time now, but also other factors that are again a bit of an explanation, I'm very sorry T.T But uh, until next time, here's this chapter! It's not super exciting as the last one but erm, I hope you like it! Thank you so much for your support! You guys are the best! I hope everything is going amazing with you and that they stay that way :) Take care!

* * *

**Oltremare**

Summary: [AU] He only meant to make her cry, not fall in love with her. [Gruvia]

* * *

**v – svanire**

He lost count how many times he bit her. Once, twice, thrice—all he knew was that each bite was deeper than the last, and he couldn't get enough. He was mad, driven wild by her taste—_god_ she tasted good, and her blood… he didn't know such a thin fish girl could bleed so much blood.

He bit her neck, her hand, beneath her ear, her shoulder. When she tried to push him away, he bit her arm. When he locked her wrists above her head and she squirmed and struggled, he sank his teeth into her collarbone. He lapped up every drop of blood that seeped from her, greedily swirled his tongue around the bites and drank from her body. Her cries and sobs were like music to his ears, and the wild thrash of her tail gave him a sick rush that only left him craving more.

He almost wanted to let her go, to let her try and escape and feel a glimpse of hope before he took it away before her very eyes. But he couldn't get enough of her, of her screams, of her wildly addicting taste.

He was vigorously sucking the blood from her neck when he felt her grow limp in his arms. Her nails that had been digging into his shoulders slowly slackened, and her head lolled to one side while her tail grew unnaturally still.

He took hearty swallows of her blood, then slowly withdrew his mouth. Dark red clouds stained the water, dispersing in the ocean around them. The slit of his eyes receded as his pupils steadily returned to normal size.

With his mouth stained crimson with her blood, he gradually regained his senses.

Feeling a weight in his arms, his gaze lowered, only to widen at the pale mermaid lifeless against him. His chest constricted painfully as his eyes roved over her body—god, he couldn't even count all the bite marks marring her skin, and he was all too aware of the tangy taste of blood lingering on his tongue.

He had done this to her. All of it.

"Juvia," he called, but he knew it was pointless—she'd lost too much blood. Her body was getting colder with each passing second. Distressed, he whipped his head around, cradling her limp form to his chest and hurriedly swishing his tail.

He had to do something, he'd be damned if he let her die while he stood around and did nothing—

"Erza!" he shouted, and the shark girl instantly turned at the frantic tone of his voice. "Erza! Do something!"

"Gray?" she called calmly, swimming over to him and glancing to the mermaid in his arms. "What—?"

"Save her," he urged, looking down to the unconscious girl. "I—I—"

"It's okay," the woman said soothingly. She glanced to the scratches on his neck and shoulders, then the injuries scattered across the mermaid's body.

"She's not breathing," he added frantically, "and she's cold—and her pulse—"

"Mira," Erza beckoned over her shoulder, and the white-haired woman nodded, swimming towards them with a tray of medical supplies.

"Erza…" Gray muttered quietly, his eyes trained on Juvia's unconscious form. "Save her, please."

"Don't worry, Gray," she replied, offering a kind smile as she moved to take her from his arms. "She will be all right, I promise."

"I…" he mumbled, watching Juvia slip from his grasp, "I don't want to kill or eat mermaids anymore."

"I know," she answered.

"I don't want to hurt her again."

Erza glanced at him, studying his face while Juvia's head rested on her shoulder. "I know."

He fell a silent, a heavy frown crossing his features. Erza gently brushed passed him, carefully carrying Juvia while Mirajane trailed behind her. Slowly stirring into movement, Gray quietly lead himself away, trying to shove the guilt gnawing at his stomach.

"Where are you headed?" he heard Mira ask, glancing over his shoulder to find her and Erza looking back at him. "You know, we could use your help."

His chest tightened, and a weak smile forced it's way on his lips. "Nah, I don't think that's a good idea… I'd just scare her."

Mirajane gave a small laugh, tilting her head with an uneasy smile. "Ah, I see… all right."

Turning around, he swam away, keeping his eyes trained in front of him. Erza delicately laid Juvia against a flat rock, and the mermaid stirred, her head leaning to one side with a hoarse whisper escaping her lips.

"Gray…"

* * *

"_It's called bloodlust," Ur said, ushering him and Lyon behind her as a sharkman ravaged through a sea of people. "Blood triggers our instinct to feed by alerting us to weak prey, but this is different. You lose yourself, and you want to kill everything in your sight."_

"_How does it happen?" Lyon asked, peeking around Ur's body before she placed her hand over his eyes._

"_Smelling blood while experiencing a heightened emotion."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_If you feel very hungry, or angry, excited, or scared, and you smell or taste blood…" She huddled the boys closer behind her, edging them behind the seaweed as the insane shark ripped off a human limb. "This is what will happen."_

"_How do you stop it?" Gray asked, clutching Ur's hand as he hid behind her._

"_You let it run its course," she answered. "Either the shark will satisfy it's thirst, or get exhausted."_

"_And then?"_

_She fell silent for a few moments, staring at the carnage before her. "Then… you live with what you've done."_

* * *

Gray buried his face in his hands, sighing and curling his claws into tight fists. The taste of her blood still stung in his mouth, the crescent marks on his shoulders burning into his skin. She had drawn blood too, left behind scrapes that would take a few days to heal, but they paled in comparison to what he did to her.

How would he ever face her again… would she even want to see him.

If she knew what was good for her, she'd stay away. Who knows when he would snap again, and the next time, he might not be able to stop himself and finish the job.

God, the sheer terror that rushed through him at the sight of her lifeless body in his arms—

"Well, don't you smell nice today."

Gray snapped his face up, finding Lyon leering down at him with a cocky smirk on his lips and malicious glint in his eye.

"What the hell are you doing here," he spat, watching the older man swim around him with a raised amused brow.

"You reek of blood," Lyon replied simply. "Mermaid blood. So you finally caved in and ate her. Tell me, how did she taste?" Raising his nose in the air, he took a slow whiff, exhaling a satisfied sigh. "Is she as delicious as she smells?"

"Fuck off," Gray sneered.

Lyon clicked his tongue, mockingly shaking his head. "You look upset, Gray. Why, because you refuse to face the reality of the situation? You're a monster, just like the rest of us."

The boy snarled through bared teeth. "I'm not—"

"She was a beautiful mermaid, but that's all she was. Nothing more than a nice-looking meal." He shrugged, "So you didn't get your tear. I'm sure her taste was well worth all her 300 years—"

"Shut up!" Gray roared, gritting his teeth. "She's not _dead, _moron—"

"She might as well be," Lyon replied. "I saw the condition you left her in."

He growled, clenching his jaw. "Bastard…"

"You lost perspective," Lyon countered with a scowl. "We have one mission, but instead of avenging our master's death, you were playing humans with the fish girl. Did you forget why you carry that tooth around your neck? Justice will never be brought to Ur's name if you—"

"Will you get to the point?"

Lyon scoffed, lifting his nose in the air. "Leave this girl alone. You failed to get her tear, so there's no point seeing her anymore. We'll go hunting like we used to—"

"I don't eat mermaids anymore," Gray muttered.

"You say that now," Lyon replied, "but by tomorrow, you'll come to your senses. It's in our nature. We're killers. Just like the humans."

Gray fell silent, staring vacantly at the seafloor.

"Killers, huh…"

"_We're not so different from them."_

"What?"

"Nothing."

* * *

"Gray."

"Hm."

"She asked for you."

"What?"

"Juvia. When she recovered, she asked for you."

"…"

"She wanted to see you."

"…So? Where is she?"

"Tell me what happened."

"Not now, Erza."

"I can assume from the injuries, but I want to hear your side of the story."

"Where is she?"

"Gray, tell me what happened—"

"Erza, where—"

"Answer me first."

"Why are you stalling?"

"I want to know—"

"What, if I'm gonna snap again? You don't trust me?"

"Don't jump to conclusions."

"Then tell me where she is."

"…"

"Erza—"

"I can't do that."

"Why—"

"She's not here."

"…"

"She fled… after she stopped screaming."

"…I see."

"Gray…"

"She's better off that way."

"It's not—"

"Don't. Just leave me alone."

* * *

"Where's _my_ little mermaid?" Lyon sighed, swimming idly through the ocean current while Gray dragged behind. "Tell me, Gray. A fish girl as cute as yours—she must have had friends. Where do they hide?"

Gray remained silent, averting his gaze with his mouth in a thin line. Lyon rolled his eyes.

"Cut the melodramatic act, will you? So you bit her. That's what we _do_. We're predators who feast on our prey, it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"It wasn't because I was hungry," Gray snapped, glairing icily. "I was—I lost control, and she was screaming, but I kept hurting her anyway. I didn't care if she lived or died, I didn't care about anything—I just—" He looked to his clawed hands, curling them into tight, trembling fists.

Lyon raised a condescending brow. "You're sulking because you succumbed to weakness?"

"It was instinct!" Gray growled.

"No, its learned behavior," Lyon replied, "conditional only if you're exposed to it."

Gray fell silent, realization crossing his face. "You mean… back then…"

"Seems so," Lyon said, glancing around him for signs of food before continuing forward.

"Why hasn't it ever happened to you?" Gray asked, trailing after him.

"Please, I'm much stronger than that," Lyon scoffed, raising his nose in the air. "I don't put myself in those situations, either."

Gray scowled, "What did you just—"

"So touchy," Lyon mocked, clicking his tongue. "Enough with your emotions and focus, will you? This is a hunt, not time to share our feeli—" He suddenly paused, snapping his gaze towards the sky.

Gray narrowed his eyes. "What—"

"Quiet," Lyon snapped, raising his hand. His eyes sifted through the surface, following the current of the waves. Gray followed his line of sight before furrowing his brow.

"Lyon—"

Lyon's pupils turned to slits, and Gray squinted. When he opened his mouth once more, Lyon suddenly burst forward, leaving a rush of water behind him.

"Hey!" Gray called, rushing after him. "What the hell's gotten into you?!"

"Don't you see it?!" Lyon replied. "The fools! Coming out to this territory!"

Gray kicked his fin, launching forward in a burst of speed. His eyes scanned the area in every direction, vigorously searching for what lurked in the waters, only for his eyes to widen.

A sound—a motor revving in the water.

Looking to the surface, there it was. Out in the distance, two-hundred meters north, was a boat. Full of humans. And Lyon was surging straight towards it.

A shiver shot down his spine. This was bad.

Lyon grinned frenziedly, edging dangerously closer to the surface. His dorsal fin broke through the water tauntingly, trailing after the ship before dipping below once more. Gray could slightly see the blurred, shadowed figures above walking about, gradually gathering a crowd to peer over the edge.

"Lyon!" Gray shouted, swimming closer to his comrade. "The hell do you think you're doin'?! Lyon!"

"Despicable humans!" Lyon cackled. "They need a reminder of their place! Gray!"

"You're too close, idiot!"

"They are! They're the intruders! Yet they kill us for sport, for food!" He sprinted forward, eyes ablaze with hatred and abhorrence. "Its only fair if we do the same!"

The familiarity was all too striking. The large vessel casting a shadow over the waters, the overzealous shark chasing after the murderous humans as they prepared to cast their net. He knew what would happen next. The electricity would surge through the current and capture the shark in a painful death, only to drag their body away minutes later.

The realization left his body still, eyes locked on the scene before him.

Within moments, blood tainted the ocean. It billowed in thick clouds and everything fell silent. He lost sight of Lyon in the clouds of crimson, and he felt cold once more.

Only to see a figure emerge from the red fog.

His limbs became revitalized, and the light returned to his eyes.

Tossing his silver hair back, Lyon raised his arm, swiping the blood from the edges of his teeth. Beside him, a limp corpse of a human floated to the surface of the ocean, breaking through the red sea with a deep gash at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. The boat's motor was miles away, lost in the distance. Lyon cast a glare after them.

"Cowards," he hissed, cracking his knuckles.

Snapping out of his daze, Gray scowled heavily, rushing towards his comrade.

"_Moron!_" he shouted, stopping before him as Lyon turned to face him. "Are you insane!? Rushing after a human boat like that?!"

"If we don't put them in their place, they'll keep intervening," Lyon replied coldly, narrowing his eyes.

"You killed one of their men! Now they know where to return to find us!"

"No, now they know where not to go if they want to live."

"This is why they call us killers! Why they kill us!"

"Don't be so naïve! Is self-preservation murder? They will keep killing us, regardless of our response! But if we kill them, soon there will be none left to hunt!_ We _are the hunters, the predators to be feared!"

"Asshole! If they could capture someone as strong as Ur, then—"

"Ur had a weakness! _You_! She had to save _you_, had to worry about _you_! If she were on her own, do you think she would have been killed so easily?!" Lyon scoffed, raising his nose in the air. "That fish girl made you weak. We survive by killing, thus we survive to kill. Whether it's humans or prey, it makes no difference. Or is that necklace just a petty decoration now?"

Gray clenched his jaw. Lyon rolled his eyes, turning away.

"All that excitement and still no food," he sighed before casting a side-eye glance behind him. "If you'd rather weep over the dead human, don't bother following. I don't need a little mermaid after all."

Before Gray could answer, he was gone.

Left to his own thoughts, his gaze fell to the cold sea floor below him. Had he always been so cowardly and sensitive? Or was it all _her _doing?

"_Don't be so naïve!" _

Huh. He'd said the same thing to her. To the fish girl—to Juvia.

Had he always treated her so harshly? Why did she stay with him? Why did she ever smile at him? How was she always so happy and always coming back—

And why was he suddenly aware of the emptiness in her absence?


End file.
